Finance & Business World

Riot police made heavy use of tear gas and stun grenades to disperse youths throwing stones and petrol bombs at a large march through central Athens Wednesday to protest the Greek government’s harsh austerity measures.

The clashes came during a 24-hour general strike that brought most public services to a halt, idled all trains and island ferries, grounded flights for four hours and disrupted public transport.

The unions, like many economic experts, question the effectiveness of more austerity at a time when the economy badly needs growth _ or possibly a debt restructuring _ to emerge from its debt hole.

The country is expected to need more financial help, beyond the euro110 billion ($158 billion) bailout that saved it from bankruptcy last year. But European officials, who have ruled out the possibility of Greece reneging on debt accords, say any new help would require more reforms.

After a year of belt-tightening, some experts wonder how much more Greeks can realistically take and whether Europe should not reconsider its long-term crisis strategy.

This month, the Socialist government is planning to pass further cutbacks aimed at saving an estimated euro23 billion ($33 billion) through 2015.

An Associated Press reporter saw at least three demonstrators injured, while dozens of black-clad anarchists smashed bus stops, set rubbish bins on fire and smashed a shop window.

Police said 24 suspected rioters were detained, while two police officers were injured.

The fighting divided the 10,000 strong march _ which was otherwise peaceful _ into two. At one stage, choking clouds of chemicals fired by police sent demonstrators and tourists scurrying for cover past shops and banks that had their fronts shuttered in anticipation of trouble.

Thousands, many chanting “Finance Minister, leave the planet,” took part in the demonstration called by the two main labor unions. Previous protests have also been marred by violence, and three clerks died last May when their bank was torched by rioters.

Earlier, about 10,000 members of the Communist-led PAME union held a separate, peaceful protest, with banners reading “We reject and condemn the new measures. We’re intensifying the fight.”

“Every day that passes, (the government) takes back what the working class has won through blood and struggles all these years,” retiree John Pavlidis said.

Another 8,000 people joined in two separate protests in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

Greece’s crisis follows years of inept governance, widespread corruption and waste that created bloated budget deficits and a public debt considerably larger than annual economic output. For the time being, the country is shielded from insolvency by a euro110 billion package of rescue loans in a 2010-2013 program from its European Union partners and International Monetary Fund.

But despite drastic spending cuts _ with reductions to pensions and salaries accompanied by an increase in taxes and retirement ages _ the nation may need additional support to meet its financing needs next year, as the cost of borrowing from bond markets remains sky-high.

Parliament is expected to vote on the new round of cutbacks later this month. The governing Socialists have also committed themselves to an ambitious _ but so far nebulous _ privatization program worth a total of euro50 billion ($72 billion) over the next few years.

However, many promised reforms have not yet been implemented, and there is growing skepticism in Greece and abroad over the government’s efficiency.

“Before we can talk about further aid, Greece has to make sure that all austerity and reform measures are duly implemented,” said Michael Meister, a deputy caucus leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party.

“I would like to have a signal that this is finally happening,” the lawmaker told Wednesday’s German Rheinische Post daily.

EU and IMF officials are currently in Athens for talks on the austerity program _ on which the continued release of the bailout loans depends.

Greek unions say the protracted austerity, amid a two-year recession and unemployment at around 15 percent, is unfairly targeting the less well-off.

“The only people paying the bill are salary earners, pensions and above all the unemployed,” said Yiannis Panagopoulos, head of the country’s largest union, the GSEE. “The well-off, who are the main people to blame for the crisis, continue to drink the health of the mugs.”

“If what our country is undergoing is a marathon, then workers must respond with marathon struggles,” he added. GSEE said participation in the strike ranged from 70 to 100 percent.

An opinion poll commissioned by the private Mega TV station and published Tuesday said 71 percent of the public oppose the government’s handling of the economic crisis, compared with 66 percent in February.

The Socialists’ 18-month-old government held a slender lead over the main opposition conservatives. Details on the number of people questioned in the poll and its margin of error were not provided.

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Verizon announced Thursday that it activated 2.2 million iPhones during the quarter, helping the company more than triple its profit from a year ago.

The wireless division of telecom giant began selling the iPhone on Feb. 10. Verizon only sold the iPhone 4 for 50 days during the quarter, compared to the full 90 days of the quarter that Apple’s (AAPL, Fortune 500) smartphone sold on rival AT&T’s network.

But Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) was on pace to sell 4 million iPhones over a 90 day period, compared to the 3.6 million that AT&T sold during the quarter.

Verizon said it added 906,000 customers under contract during the quarter. By contrast, AT&T (T, Fortune 500) added just 62,000.

Some analysts said that suggests Verizon is attracting subscribers thanks to the new iPhone, while AT&T is mainly selling iPhones to its existing customers who are due for an upgrade to a new handset.

"There was an influx of customers wanting the iPhone on Verizon, some of whom were existing customers but many of whom switched," said Todd Day, wireless industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

Despite drastic improvements to its network, AT&T has suffered from widely publicized complaints about its 3G service in New York and San Francisco, and it recently ranked worst in a Consumer Reports survey of U.S. wireless carriers. Some studies suggested that about 2.5 million AT&T customers would defect to Verizon once AT&T lost its iPhone exclusivity.

The iPhone will continue to be a heated battleground for the two wireless giants: Apple announced Wednesday that its iconic smartphone is still gaining steam. The device maker sold a record 18 paperless payday loans.65 million iPhones in the quarter, up 113% from last year.

Both Verizon and AT&T have fought bitterly over smartphone, tablet and mobile broadband customers, since they’re one of the fastest growing sources of revenue for telecom companies. The two companies both reported more than $5 billion in wireless data revenue, up $1 billion from a year ago.

Verizon is strongly pushing its new, faster, 4G-LTE network. The company said it has activated 260,000 HTC ThunderBolts, Verizon’s first LTE phone, since it went on sale March 17. Those strong sales came despite the phone’s premium price of $250.

Overall, Verizon reported earnings of $1.4 billion on revenue of $27 billion for the quarter. Profit grew more than three-fold from the $443 million the telecom company earned during the same period last year.

Verizon earned 51 cents per share, a penny higher than the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Shares fell 2% in morning trading.

AT&T reported similar figures on Wednesday, saying its profit rose 39% to $3.4 billion on revenue of $31.2 billion.

Sprint Nextel (S, Fortune 500), the next biggest wireless competitor, is expected to have revenue of just $8 billion in the quarter. Sprint will announce its quarterly profit and sales figures on April 28.

AT&T is in the midst of seeking approval for its acquisition of T-Mobile, which would make it the largest wireless provider by far — 30% bigger than Verizon and more than three times the size of Sprint. 

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Fasten your seat belts. It could be a turbulent summer of labour unrest for Air Canada.

With all its major union contracts expired, the airline which, has only recently returned to profitability, is eager to take off in a new direction.

But a proposed low-cost carrier to vacation destinations in Europe and down south to compete with the likes of Air Transat has already set off alarm bells for Air Canada

Italian carmaker Fiat Spa on Wednesday said it returned to a profit in the first quarter, from a loss a year earlier, on increased sales of luxury brands and strong performance in the components business.

Fiat, which controls Chrysler with a 30 percent stake, made a net profit attributable to majority shareholders of euro29 million ($41.5 million) while revenues rose 7 percent to euro9.2 billion. Luxury brand Ferrari and the Magnetti Marelli components business saw double-digit gains.

Fiat’s Group Automobiles, the unit which owns the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands, saw a 2.6 percent increase in revenues to euro7 billion.

The success of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and light commercial vehicle sales like vans offset weaker sales for passenger cars, Fiat said.

It is the company’s first quarterly earnings report since the January spinoff of the industrial unit, which makes trucks and farm and construction vehicles. CEO Sergio Marchionne said the spinoff would free up the vastly different businesses to pursue their own strategies and industrial tieups.

Shares rose 3.42 percent to euro6.48 in Milan trading.

Fiat SpA, which since the demerger is focused on cars, light commercial vehicles and related components, confirmed 2011 targets of trading profit _ or earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items _ of between euro900 million and euro1 check cash advance.2 billion on revenues of about euro37 billion.

Fiat SpA’s trading profit rose 9 percent on the year while Fiat Group Automobiles saw its trading profit fall 15 percent as European volumes declined and investments in new models increased.

The car business shipped 245,300 units, down 11 percent on the year. Fiat saw its market share in Europe slide from 7 percent to 5.3 percent as demand for alternative fuel vehicles waned.

The luxury market, however, roared back to life. Ferrari sales in its main market of North America rose 3 percent to 452 vehicles, while in China they rose 3.7 percent to 153 vehicles.

Trading profit for components was up 45 percent to euro61 million a year earlier, thanks to strong results in the Magneti Marelli and Fiat Powertrain units.

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Investors plowed a record amount of cash into funds that invest in Japanese equities this week, taking full advantage of a sharp drop in the Nikkei following the disaster in Japan.

A whopping $956 million flowed into U.S.-based Japanese equity mutual funds and exchange traded funds in the week ended March 16, according to data from Thomson Reuters Lipper service.

A hefty chunk of that fresh cash went into Japanese stock ETFs, which accounted for nearly 98%, or $936 million, of the total amount. That’s the best weekly inflow on record, and almost twice the prior record set in November 2005, said Jeff Tjornrhoj, head of Lipper Americas Research.

The iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ), the biggest Japanese tracking ETF, enjoyed the biggest boost.

On Tuesday alone, investors injected $692 million into the fund, whose top holdings include the Japanese-traded shares of Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Canon, Sony and Tokyo Electric Power Co. That was the largest single-day inflow on record for the ETF, according to TrimTabs Investment Research.

It was also the same day the Nikkei 225 (NKY) index, the most prominent measure of stocks traded in Tokyo, dropped more than 10%.

"A lot of investors who have been watching the Japanese market with the intent to invest are viewing this dip in the market as the best time to get in since the financial crisis in 2008," said Minyi Chen, Asia equity analyst at TrimTabs quick payday loans.

That’s exactly what the manager of the YieldQuest Core Equity Fund (YQCEX) did. YieldQuest chief investment strategist Jay Chitnis boosted the fund’s allocation in the iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund to 10% from 6%, in the days following the earthquake.

"These sorts of events present a terrific buying opportunity in hindsight," Chitnis said. And since the Group of Seven nations pledged to intervene to stabilize the yen late Thursday, Chitnis expects Japanese stocks to deliver an even better performance than before.

"Japan is a huge export economy, and they’ve had to contend with a strong yen," he said. "If the yen weakens, that will make Japanese goods even more attractive in world markets, and that will be tremendous for Japanese companies’ earnings."

Plus, experts are optimistic that the earthquake’s impact will have a relatively mild long-term effect on the Japanese and global economies.

"Once the nuclear power plants situation is under control, the market will recover quickly, said TrimTabs’ Chen. After bottoming on Tuesday, the Nikkei has climbed almost 7%.  

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Gas prices rose Tuesday for the 14th straight day, with drivers in some parts of the United States now paying more than $3.90 a gallon.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is now $3.517, according to a daily survey by motorist group AAA. That’s up eight tenths of a cent from $3.509 on Monday.

Gas prices have risen nearly 15 cents so far this month. That’s on top of a nearly 27 cent increase in February.

California continues to have the highest gas prices in the nation, with drivers there paying an average of $3.908 a gallon. Hawaii had the second highest average price at $3.89 a gallon, while Alaska came in third at $3.845 a gallon.

The lowest gas prices are in Wyoming, where gas averages $3.197 a gallon. Montana and Missouri also have relatively low gas prices.

Gas prices have been driven higher by an increase in the price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline.

Oil prices have risen more than 10% so far this month, as investors remain nervous about the crisis in Libya. However, prices were trending lower Tuesday following reports that other oil-exporting nations in the region are considering boosting output.  

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Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded its outlook for Japan’s credit rating because of concerns over its massive national debt.

The rating agency changed its outlook for Japan’s Aa2 rating from stable to negative.

In January, Standard & Poor’s cut Japan’s credit rating from AA to AA- for the first time in almost nine years due to concerns over ballooning debt.

Moody’s said the downgrade was due to “increasing uncertainty” over Japan’s ability to implement effective measures to rein in rising debt guaranteed payday loan.

Japan’s debt ratio is already among the highest in the developed world.

The finance ministry estimated in January that the country’s public debt would swell to 997.7 trillion yen ($12 trillion) by March 2012, up from 943 trillion yen this year.

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Egyptians staged protests and strikes Wednesday over a host of grievances from paltry wages to toxic waste dumping, defying the second warning in three days from the nation’s military rulers to halt all labor unrest at a time when the economy is staggering.

The military-led caretaker government gave its first estimate of the death toll in the 18-day democracy uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Health Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said at least 365 civilians died according to a preliminary count that does not include police or prisoners.

Mubarak’s departure set off a chain reaction of revolt around the Middle East with anti-government demonstrations in Libya, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen and Iraq on Wednesday.

“We urge citizens and members of professional and labor unions to go back to their positions, and each play their part,” the military said in a text message sent to Egyptian cell phones.

The new warning raised expectations of an outright ban on protests and strikes, but it was ignored by people angered over a long list of woes. One of the youth groups that helped organize the anti-Mubarak revolt tweeted Wednesday: “Strikes and protests should NOT stop.” It said Mubarak’s men were still running the government.

The group also promoted a planned march this Friday to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the democracy movement’s key gathering point.

The military council that took power from Mubarak on Friday says strikes and protests are hampering efforts to salvage the economy and return the nation to normal life. The uprising has led to extended bank and stock market closures along with an evaporation of tourism _ a key source of income for the country.

Banks will have been closed two out of the past three weeks by Thursday, the last day of the business week in Egypt. There was no word on whether they would reopen Sunday, the start of the business week.

The stock market has been closed for the past three weeks and, again, and it’s uncertain when it will resume operating. The market lost nearly 17 percent of its value in two tumultuous sessions in late January before it was ordered shut to halt the slide.

As the economy falters, a wide array of groups are making it known they want change now.

Hundreds of airport employees protested inside the arrivals terminal at Cairo International Airport to press demands for better wages and health coverage. The protest did not disrupt flights.

In the industrial Nile Delta city of Mahallah al-Koubra, workers from Egypt’s largest textile factory went on strike over pay and calls for an investigation into alleged corruption at the factory, according to labor rights activist Mustafa Bassiouni.

More than 60 women’s and community groups condemned the new panel formed by the Armed Forces Supreme Council to amend Egypt’s constitution, saying it is an all-male group which “excludes half of society.”

“This casts doubt on the future of democratic transformation in Egypt after the revolution, and raises questions about … whether the revolution was seeking to free the whole society or only certain segments,” the statement said.

In Port Said, a coastal city at the northern tip of the Suez Canal, about 1,000 people demonstrated to demand that a chemical factory be closed because it was dumping waste in a lake near the city.

In the wake of protests Monday and Wednesday outside the office of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, a spokeswoman for the group said it has started giving each refugee a small, one-time payment to help with their immediate needs.

The refugees demonstrating at the UNHCR office on the outskirts of Cairo complained they have been stuck in Egypt for several years, sometimes as long as a decade. Wilkes said there are some 40,000 registered refugees in the country, many from East Africa.

The European Union said Wednesday that its foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton would visit Egypt next week after the Egyptian Foreign Ministry asked the international community for aid. Ashton, already in the region, would be the most senior foreign official to come to Cairo since Mubarak’s Feb. 11 ouster. Details of her visit and who she would meet while in Cairo were yet to be announced.

There was one crumb of good news for Egyptian authorities.

The country’s chief archaeologist announced the recovery of three of 18 pieces reported missing from the famed Egyptian Museum during the anti-Mubarak uprising.

“God almighty saved the antiquities from this hell because God loves Egypt,” Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said.

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Associated Press Writer Maggie Michael contributed to this story.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Brazil is getting a disproportionate share of capital inflows because other countries keep their currencies undervalued.

“Investors around the world see Brazil growing at a faster pace and offering higher rates of return relative to other major economies,” Geithner said today in remarks prepared for a speech in Sao Paulo. “But these flows have been magnified by the policies of other emerging economies that are trying to sustain undervalued currencies, with tightly controlled exchange-rate regimes.”

Geithner didn’t specify the countries. In a report to Congress on Feb. 5, the Treasury Department said China had made “insufficient” progress in allowing its currency to rise and said the yuan remains “substantially undervalued.” The report on foreign-exchange markets also said South Korea needs more exchange-rate flexibility.

Net private capital flows to developing countries expanded 44 percent in 2010 to about $753 billion, according to a World Bank report last month. The nine countries that attracted the bulk of capital flows were Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey, the report said.

“Brazil and other emerging economies with flexible exchange rates and open capital markets have borne a disproportionate share of both the benefits and burdens of these capital flows,” said Geithner, who was scheduled to visit Sao Paulo and Brasilia on a one-day visit to South America’s largest country. U.S. President Barack Obama plans to visit Brazil next month low interest personal loan.

Fastest Growth

A 38 percent rally of the Brazilian real in the past two years, combined with the fastest growth in more than two decades, has increased imports, prompting the government to take measures to temper the currency gains. The central bank has begun offering reserve currency swaps and buying dollars in the spot and forward currency markets.

The administration of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who took office Jan. 1, has “deep concerns” over the strength of the real and may take trade measures to protect domestic manufacturers from cheap imports, Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel said Feb. 4.

Emerging economies such as Brazil need, “just as we do, the support from the policy choices of other major economies,” Geithner said.

“As countries with large surpluses act to strengthen domestic demand in their economies, open their capital markets and allow their currencies to reflect fundamentals, we will see more balance in the flow of capital, less upward pressure on Brazil’s currency, and more robust growth in Brazil’s exports, especially manufacturing exports.”

Geithner, 49, said the U.S. and Brazilian economies “are in a much stronger position than we were two years ago.” The two countries’ economic interests are “fundamentally aligned,” he said.

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It may seem like a downer, but the seemingly relentless, cold Arctic air howling into Southern Ontario this winter is a boon for

airlines and travel agents serving sunshine destinations.

During cold snaps, calls are incessant to the Flight Centre